


Tightrope

by Ziane



Series: SangCheng Week 2019 [3]
Category: Founder of Diabolism, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Day 5, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, SangCheng Week 2019, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 18:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19025089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziane/pseuds/Ziane
Summary: Under a bright full moon, Jiang Cheng takes what he wants and Nie Huaisang yields.





	Tightrope

**Author's Note:**

> Day 5 - "Balance"  
> I wrote this prior to Day 1 so it's not a continuation (which would've been neat) but well, another First Kiss because I'm weak...  
> (ღ ･ิ◡･ิ)ε ･ิ ღ)  
> This fic is SFW! ╭(♡･ㅂ･)و ̑̑

In the last night of his official visit to Lotus Pier, Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng saunter the forest enclosing the residence. Some disciples are still around a bonfire listening in awe to Wei Wuxian while he tells them again about the time he fought Lan Wangji over a jar of Emperor’s Smile. Jiang Cheng suspects he cannot get over the fact that the Jade of Lan refused his invitation instead of spending a few days with them in Yunmeng.

Sick of Wei Wuxian’s nonsense, Jiang Cheng saw Nie Huaisang straying from the group and heading to the pier, so he used the opportunity to escape, and caught up with him. A full moon of a summer night accompanies them as they walk abreast in silence. Words never come easy between them, it’s either Nie Huaisang babbling about a book, or a poem, or an artist he has discovered, or a pleasant silence none of them feels the need to fill with small talk. That’s one thing he likes about him; if Jiang Cheng can ever admit to himself his interest in Young Master Nie goes beyond their friendship.

Walking by his side, Nie Huaisang’s heart gallops at the prospect of spending time together. They haven’t been alone for a long time. The Cloud Recesses provide a calming atmosphere that acts as a refuge for how they feel, and now, out of the place they met and got used to each other, they are both out of their element. Nie Huaisang takes a peek at Jiang Cheng’s face, his lips pressed in a thin line, his gaze staring listlessly ahead as if he was trapped in his own thoughts and walking alone, but then he turns about and their eyes meet. Even enveloped by the darkness of the night, Nie Huaisang blushes and averts his gaze.

It’s not the first time they are alone; they had gotten quite close these past months. Nie Huaisang used to read and spend his afternoons alone, but upon Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng’s arrival, he had no more time for books or boredom. After Wei Wuxian left the Cloud Recesses, he thought his routine would be filled again by the solitary company of his favorite books, but Jiang Cheng looked for him more often than not. They would meet in the clearing near the Library Pavilion, accompanying one another as they read, laugh, or chat about nonsense. To Nie Huaisang, those precious moments are like a treasure.

Distracted by his own thoughts, Nie Huaisang gasps when Jiang Cheng grasps his upper arm and makes a turn. “Here, I want to show you something.” He nods, his body still tingling by his touch.

During the past few days, they have hunted pheasants, shot kites, stolen lotus seed pods, and bathed in the lakes in the hottest days. Accustomed to being indoors and enjoying easy days go by, Nie Huaisang fell asleep almost instantly every night, weary of the days but with a wide smile on his lips. It took him a river of tears to convince his big brother to let him come, and he finally relinquished believing they would spend the days practicing and not fooling around, but that is a problem for his future-self.

The wooden planks make a creaking noise under their feet as they walk to the far end of the pier. Nie Huaisang swoons in delight at the sight of a full moon too big and too low in the sky that anyone would think it wants to bathe in the dark waters. “Oh,” Nie Huaisang gasps, so enraptured by the moon he misses the subtle half-smile on Jiang Cheng’s lips. “Is it always so awe-inspiring?”

“A few nights in the summer,” Jiang Cheng says, ignoring the sight he has seen countless time and relishing instead in Nie Huaisang’s smiling face and sparkling eyes soaked by the moonlight. “We can fly up-high with our swords and…” Jiang Cheng interrupts himself, cursing his big mouth.

Nie Huaisang chuckles, playing down his worries. “Who knows if I’ll ever cross the skies in a sword, not that I mind at all!”

“You will.” Jiang Cheng snatches two fingers together and closes his eyes for an instant, unsheathing Sandu. He hops on the blade and stretches a hand to a perplex Nie Huaisang. “Do you trust me?” His hand hovers over him, his lower lip quivering slightly. “Do you trust me?” Jiang Cheng repeats.

Nie Huaisang takes his hand and feels as if a jolt of energy had gone through his whole body. One moment he’s in the pier and the next his back is against Jiang Cheng’s chest and they are flying up high in the sky. A surge of fear clenches his stomach when he looks down and sees the little waves that catch a glimpse of the moonlight as they sway. “Don’t. Look up.” Jiang Cheng circles his waist with an arm to secure him against him, and Nie Huaisang doesn’t know if he’s going to faint because of the height or because of the scorching hot fingers against his body.

Nie Huaisang wrinkles his eyes shut, sinking into his arms, his legs wobbly, his heart beating so fast he feels the pulse point in his neck flutter. “Cheng-xiong,” he mumbles, his clammy hands clinging to his arm. His knees falter, and a foot slips off the edge of the sword at the same time a pitiful yelp comes out of his lips.

But Jiang Cheng lifts him against him, keeping them both in perfect balance over his sword as he hovers in the sky and compensates for the gentle breeze that washes through them. “I got you,” he whispers into his ear and can almost sense how Nie Huaisang melts. “Open your eyes or you’ll miss it.”

Lifting his lids, Nie Huaisang finds in front of him an even bigger moon, bright and full, conquering the landscape. The stars are brighter up here, and he shivers under a gust of wind that seeps through his thin, summer clothes. He’s aware of Jiang Cheng’s warmth behind him; of the raising and falling of his chest against him. Mustering all the courage he has left, Nie Huaisang turns into his arms, bumping against his chest, Jiang Cheng’s arm now secured around the small of his back. “S-sorry,” he stutters, his hands wringing the collars of his uniform. He tries to remember when have they been so close before; if Jiang Cheng has always smelled of sweet dreams and sour wine or if his imagination is playing tricks on him. As if he had ever tasted the wonders of his mouth.

“Now you can’t see the moon,” Jiang Cheng murmurs, his lips parting, his eyes scrutinizing every dainty detail in Nie Huaisang’s face. The way his watery eyes stare at him, how he wets his lips and worries at his lower lip, slowly letting go. If he didn’t know him so well he’d buy the coy pretense, but Jiang Cheng has been falling for Nie Huaisang’s subtle flirting for a long time now. How he casually touches his arm to grasp his attention, how he leans into him as they study, how he trips always whenever he’s around in time to steady him. “Do you want to go down?” Nie Huaisang shakes his head, unable to produce a word.

In the gentle sway of the sword, Nie Huaisang slides his hands up his chest and over his shoulders, clinging to his neck as he swallows a lump in his throat. The hand around his waist tightens, and another one rests between his shoulder blades and roves up his spine until Jiang Cheng cups the back of his head. His fingertips tickle his scalp, thread in his hair, and he lets out an inaudible whine of pleasure.

Knowing he won’t fall, Nie Huaisang glances at him behind hooded lids, standing on his tiptoes just enough to align their lips, his head tilting to the side. If he were brave enough, he’d ask for a kiss, but in his dreams, he never asks for them; it’s Jiang Cheng the one claiming his mouth as entitled as he does everything else.

Their breaths blend together, their lips hovering over each other. Jiang Cheng drinks a needy gasp right from his parted mouth and that’s it for him. He pushes his head onward at the same time he cages his lips into his mouth. Too sloppy, too eager, but the honeyed moan from Nie Huaisang’s throat curls his stomach nice and warm.

Tears of joy gather at the corner of his eyes, but Nie Huaisang opens his mouth and tastes Jiang Cheng’s lips for the first time. A swipe of a shy tongue is enough to make him grunt, his hold on him tightening, their bodies entwined as one on top a thin, trustworthy blade. Not in his best dreams or in the more romantics novels has Nie Huaisang read a first kiss more romantic than this one. And now it’s his until the end of his days.

He’s glad they didn’t kiss that night they indulged too much and drank too much wine, or that time he fell asleep over his shoulder and woke up to a flustered Jiang Cheng staring wantonly at his parted mouth. A summer night in Yunmeng, the bright full moon as their witness, and a handful of young love to spare.

Neither of them knows what they’re doing and yet they drown into each other as if they only needed to kiss a thousand times more to learn their way around the other. They stop when they need to draw breath, Jiang Cheng’s thumb tracing circles on the back of his ear and sending shivers down his body. Nie Huaisang’s spit-licked lips are so swollen they tingle as if he had been eating spicy congee.

His stomach flips as if he was in free fall, perhaps they are, when their lips brush gingerly and the sword descends in a perfect parabola. Jiang Cheng lifts him effortlessly by the waist and hops them off of Sandu. “I won’t tell, I promise,” Nie Huaisang mumbles, his feet failing to settle in solid ground, but those strong hands clinging to him firmly.

Jiang Cheng’s eyebrows twitch upon listening to those words and Sandu sheathes itself with a smooth whoosh. “Can you keep a secret?” Jiang Cheng asks. Nie Huaisang gives a jerky nod.

The next moment, his back is against the slightly damp planks of the pier, his head cradled by Jiang Cheng’s hand, his mind intoxicated by the dreamlike scenario. Jiang Cheng takes his mouth more eagerly as if there was nothing to fear anymore as if he only wanted to kiss him the whole night and become an expert in the matter. The way he licks his lips, the way he pushes his tongue inside, the obvious moan that leaves Nie Huaisang’s mouth when Jiang Cheng suckles at his lower lip. Everything is an unrehearsed symphony to his soul.

Their bodies grind against the other. The chilly night vanishes and leaves room for the heat threatening to burn them so slowly it won’t even hurt. Nie Huaisang has read about this, he has spent nights and days invested in the love stories of others, and nothing compares with what he feels tangled with Jiang Cheng and opening his mouth to love.

When Jiang Cheng draws back, he’s flustered and panting, his face beet-red, his lips so swollen he can barely feel them. “Can you keep a secret?” Jiang Cheng asks again.

“Y-yes,” Nie Huaisang answers.

“Then don’t because you’re mine and I am yours.”

Nie Huaisang bites back a sob before he yields again to Jiang Cheng’s kisses.

_Now and always._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و  
> I wanted this to be the -Oh, GOD, finally - first kiss from the couple of the fics [Sleeping Beauty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18110225) and [Spring Dream](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18267485) because I was evil there with them xDDD
> 
> I have one last fic for Day 7, see y'all then! ❤⃛ヾ(๑❛ ▿ ◠๑ )


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